A 40-something Western Canadian who still thinks he's 24. Dreamer, thinker, photographer, traveler, entrepreneur, software developer. Adores women immensely but is still working hard at trying to understand them! :-)

This is my personal blog and primarily focuses on my photography & videography.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

On 2011-01-21 I received an e-mail from a gentleman named John Dammeyer regarding this video which I shot on 2009-11-04 & published on YouTube. I had no idea who he was. Soon I would find out though. Here's an abridged version of what John told me about the two sets of rings that shone brightly in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics:

Eddy Butler was the Chief Engineer from PBA Engineering. He was the project leader, PBA was the liaison between the Government, VANOC, YVR (Airport Rings), and the company in Salmon Arm that built the rings structure. The work they did was phenomenal.

I designed the lights and control system electronics and software, while a company in Victoria, Coast Circuit Connections along with PBA employees, assembled a total of over 2400 lights.

The PC that ran the light shows had software that was written by Ian Mackay from Denman Software. Alas, he died in the Summer of 2009 so I had to first update the software for the double rings at Coal Harbour and then find another software guy that could take that and add the features like email control and other stuff that was all working in the background - the thankless job part.

Through the Premier's Office a graphics firm was hired to do the light shows for the Coal Harbour Dual rings. It was because of Ian Mackay's forethought that the system was universal enough to be able to read files that were created by the graphics firm. It was one of those shows that you filmed. I'd known Ian for over 35 years. It was a tragic loss where Cancer claimed yet another creative individual. Really sad that he couldn't see how beautiful they turned out.

We had a small bucket truck on the barge used for getting up to the rings for servicing the lights. They extended the bucket way out over the water to take the photo that I've attached for you. It was taken by Dave Nunuk who works for Tourism BC. If you check out Wikipedia with the Lions Gate Bridge as the search parameter you'll see a nice photo he took of the bridge at night. The LED lights were also designed by me and were built and assembled by Eddy Butler.

Local Vancouver Time

Common Sense Quotations

Current Weather

Current Vancouver Weather

Burrard Street Bridge

Downtown Vancouver

Lions Gate Bridge

Iron Workers Memorial Bridge

About Moi

"Pelalusa" is a glorious Spanish-sounding word that means ... well ... absolutely nothing! The word doesn't actually exist. But it sure sounds like it means something!!
While living in Mexico City in 1996/97 I would often ask my friends the meaning of this word and that. One day I asked what "pelalusa" meant, for it just 'sounded' like a word that would mean something en Español. But alas, it does not.

What's With The Ads?

I've launched a new website called Pelalusa.com. Eventually it'll become a fully fledged social networking site but for now it's just a fun travel site, showcasing my journeys and photography. I hope you enjoy it and I always welcome suggestions to improve it.

This new site will be advertising sponsored. What's different about it though is that 50% of the profits (eventually increasing towards 100%) will be donated to philanthropic efforts such as BC Digital Divide. It'll be a global effort, with a particular focus on technology and education.

So I decided to also allow the ads on here too. Please know that I have no control over their content. If some ad does catch your interest, at least you know where the money will be going.

Day & Night

Favourite Quotes

When I was around 12 years old I wrote the following: "Too many get caught up in the noise of everyday life to hear the symphony of what life is really all about."

"The bigger the government grows, the smaller the individual becomes." -- Dennis Prager

"When you take away a person's need to provide for themselves, you take away their humanity." -- Damon Rexroad

"Life is a gift, not an obligation. So make the very best of every single day you're given!" - Donovan Campbell

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money to spend." -- Margaret Thatcher

"You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream-the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, "The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." -- Ronald Reagan

Archive.org

If you'd like to see an amazing site that is full of old commercials, radio programs, and a host of other fascinating memorabilia then click here.

The Cluetrain Manifesto

The Internet is causing an amazing transition to occur about how individuals interact with the companies that they buy from and work for. Most companies are still in denial about even the presence of this change, much to their own peril.
Shown here are the 95 Theses' of the Cluetrain Manifesto:

Smile Time

Multimedia

I've collected together a number of my best flower photos. Each of them has more than sufficient resolution for printing, even as an enlargement. You can download a 46MB Zip file containing many photos by clicking on this image: